The Riverside Church Peregrine Falcons don’t seem to have fledged yet. Word is that there are four young Falcon’s this year. I was able to see at least two of the youngsters and both parents on a visit to the church Saturday evening.
The hawks aren’t the only birds to have fledglings at Morningside Park. There were a set of Blue Jay’s with three fledglings, being very mindful of the hawk fledgling up on the the Cathedral.
I was only able to view the fledgling at St. John for an hour before it gave everyone the slip. It was on a railing on the roof when I arrived at the Cathedral nearby for about an hour before moving off out of view. We saw a parent fly by twice, but didn’t see where it ended up perching.
With the fledgling being up so high on St. Luke’s and St. John, I haven’t been able to see the full family together since the fledgling left the nest. Today, all three were on the Cathedral near each other.
First we had the fledgling eating on a small flat roof, then it snoozed a little on top of a brick column. Later it was joined by the mother, who eat the leftovers, and eventually the father joined them.
The fledgling looks very healthy and active, which is great after the two unexplained deaths of its siblings on the nest.
Just as I arrived on Thursday evening, the fledgling and one of the parents left St. Luke’s and headed back to the Cathedral. I couldn’t relocate the parent, but the found the fledgling eating on a tower on the northeast side of the building.
After eating the fledgling made its way west to what appears to be its nighttime roost. When will this fledgling venture lower down and actually spend time in a tree?
The fledgling spend most of the early evening playing above the emergency room of St. Luke’s Hospital on Tuesday. Unlike Monday, when it was out of sight most of the evening, on Tuesday it put on a great show. The best viewing angle was in front of the Cathedral steps on Amsterdam for most of the evening. The mother kept watch from a nearby railing.
As it did on Monday, it returned to the Cathedral at sunset. When it flies over, the fledgling aims for the dome at the center of the Cathedral, which is an easy target and them moves west.
